2. Charge (A TFP Fanfiction)

Chapter 3

Ratchet looked even more frustrated as he tended to Arcee's light wounds. Her face was hard and upset, and the others all held disappointed expressions. Jack was down by his guardian, while I was at the pedes of mine.

"You weren't able to determine the Decepticons location?" the medic growled. "Or if Optimus was even aboard ship?!"

I... couldn't confirm," the femme said sharply, turning her helm.

Bulkhead suddenly rattled, his optics angry. The wrecker turned with a growl and smashed something on the console next to him. His servo lifted to reveal destroyed equipment.

"Bulkhead-!"

"What?!" Bulkhead interrupted angrily. "You needed that?! The only thing I need is our head honcho back!"

"It wasn't your fault," Jack assured his guardian.

"If any of us had needed saving," she argued, "Optimus would have found a way. I didn't. Simple as that."

Agent Fowler appeared at the screen and shouted at my guardian angrily, scolding them for the amount of wounded from the attack. He ended it with a threat, one that made me shiver.

"But.. where would you go?" I asked dreadfully, clasping my hands together, a nervous habit.

"Who knows?!" Ratchet shouted, now furious. Maybe they'll ship us off to an island! Or shoot us off into space! Wouldn't that be a welcome relief?!"

I knew he couldn't really mean it, or at least, I hoped. Either way, it hurt to hear him say those things. I knew he wasn't angry with me, exactly, but my kind was only adding to his problems right now. He probably couldn't help but feel notorious towards me, and the other kids. I looked down at the ground, shuffling my feet and putting my hands behind my back. I blinked away tears, hoping my guardian wouldn't see me now.

"Hey!" Jack shouted, stopping an argument between the troubled Autobots. "Aren't we overlooking one positive? No one's talking about what the Cons just got their claws on."

"Yes, we managed to allow them to acquire a POWER SOURCE for their GroundBridge!" Ratchet roared, turning to them sharply and waving his arms angrily.

"And how exactly would that be a positive?" Arcee snapped, her servo on her hip.

"We let them finish building their SpaceBridge," Jack continued, unfazed. "So that we can commandeer it, and use it to send me to Cybertron."

I jumped from where I was standing, surprised. Miko expressed that it was a good idea, and I silently agreed. The Autobots seemed skeptical, not liking it, but Jack argued that they didn't have much of a choice anymore.

Ratchet was still shouting angrily, but I wasn't really listening anymore. I sighed, bringing my hands to my arms. I started to feel a chill, and then something was squeezing at my chest. It felt like anger.

But a moment after it was there, it was gone.

Taking a deep breath, I jogged over to where Ratchet had moved, placing a hand on his pede. He glanced down at me, for only a second, before looking away without a hint of softness. I cringed, but kept my hand where it remained. He was angry. He just needed time.

"So the SpaceBridge could be anywhere on earth!" Jack observed.

"Like trying to find a servo in a scrapyard," Bulk growled, his voice lowered.

"Then maybe we better start looking," Arcee said, softening slightly.

"But the fact remains," Ratchet interjected. "We do not know what the Decepticons have in store for Optimus. Or if he's truly safe from harm."